Monolithic capacitors comprise a plurality of dielectric layers, at least two of which bear metallizations (electrodes) in desired patterns. Such capacitors are made from a green (unfired) tape of particles of dielectric materials held together with an organic binder by cutting pieces of tape from a sheet of tape, metallizing some of the tape pieces, stacking and laminating the pieces of tape, cutting the laminate to form individual capacitors and firing the resultant individual capacitors to drive off the organic binder and vehicles and to form a sintered (coherent) body.
Rodriguez et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,313 disclose a process for making multilayer capacitors. FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,905 to Fabricius shows a multilayer capacitor which may be of alternating palladium and barium titanate layers.
Metallizations useful in producing electrodes for capacitors normally comprise finely divided metal particles applied to dielectric green tapes in the form of a dispersion of such particles in an inert liquid organic medium or vehicle. Selection of the composition of the metal particles is usually based on a compromise of cost and performance. Since base metals often are oxidized in air at elevated temperatures and/or in many cases react with the dielectric material during firing, noble metals are usually preferred because of their relative inertness during firing of the laminates to produce electrically continuous conductors.
Also often used as electrodes in capacitors are the coprecipitated noble metal alloys of Hoffman as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,385,799 and 3,390,981 and by Short in U.S. Pat No. 3,620,714.
In addition, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,681 Popowich discloses the use of several additive oxides such as ThO.sub.2 and Gd.sub.2 O.sub.3 in electrode metallizations for use in the manufacture of multilayer capacitors. In particular, those oxides are disclosed to improve the densification of the electrodes.
Despite the above-mentioned advances in the art of making capacitors, there exists a need to improve still further the integrity of the electrode thick film layers so they can be made thinner without incurring low yields in the manufacturing process. The term "yield" as used in this context refers to the percentage of capacitors which are within all of performance specifications, based upon the total number of capacitors which are fabricated.